TLDR version: Which is worse, burps or farts?
I like to burp.
The sensation and the sound are just so satisfying.
However, I realize that many people find belching to be off-putting, so I will normally try to stifle a burp in the presence of others. At home, I am a little less reserved than in public (let the lion roar in his own den, I say), but I try to tone it down in front of my wife.
That said, just last night I let out a burp of moderate volume at home. My wife, from another part of the house, called out indignantly, “What was that!?”
Chiding me most severely, she went on to claim that an American acquaintance once told her that in his country, burping is considered even more offensive than farting! Now what that should have to do with us (her being Japanese and me being Australian), I really don’t know, but I opined that her American acquaintance must have been some kind of idiot to make such an outrageous claim, and surely didn’t represent the general opinion of the American populance.
I acknowledge that it is often easier to stifle a burp than a fart, and thus there may be a greater sence of culpability associated with the humble burp, as compared to its more pungent cousin. And honestly, I don’t particularly appreciate either one when I am the recipient and not the imparter.
Nevertheless, I insisted that no reasonable mind could consider burping to be worse than farting.
(Also, I think my wife has a personal interest in buying into the suggestion that farting is a lesser sin than burping.)
Later, however I got to wondering
A) which of the two is considered worse in other cultures, and
B) whether my own perspective is wrong.
Then it occurred to me: here on the Straight Dope I have access to some of the brightest intellects, sharpest witts, and lowest brows on the planet!
So I ask you, good people, which of these two bodily functions do you find to be more offensive, and what do you think the general opinion is in your society?
(My impression is that here in Japan they are equally frowned upon, as I hardly ever hear either. In public, at least.)
I may try to make this into a poll if I can figure out how to.